Super Mario Dreamscape
by Cascore
Summary: When a new plan to take over the Mushroom Kingdom ensues, Mario and Luigi find themselves traversing an alternate reality known as the Dreamscape, where they must bring peoples' dreams to completion if they hope to restore the entire world.
1. A Dreamy Idea

**Cascore's Note: I need to stop with the new stories... Anyway, here's another adventure story of mine, an idea that's been with me for a little while now. I don't really plan to focus on this much until I get some other projects done first (namely "Not Another Love Story") but I will work on it every now and again since I honestly think that this is a story that Nintendo could probably use for one of their games. And, if nothing else, the title's pretty cool, no? So I'll be quiet now and let you go ahead and read on. I hope you enjoy.**

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**Prologue: "A Dreamy Idea"**

The halls of Bowser's dim and dank castle were brimming with activity as usual. Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Paratroopas, Koopatrols, and Hammer, Fire, and Boomerang Bros loitered about the pathways all around the establishment, including the hallway just outside of Bowser's throne room, which apparently grew to be a popular hang out spot over time despite the fact that their king usually resided just beyond the double doors at the far end. They never had to worry though, for Bowser was usually milling about just as nonchalantly as his subjects were, thinking up schemes he knew would never work or talking about irrelevant topics with his aides Kamek and Kammy.

Right now, several of his subordinates were eavesdropping on a growling session taking place within their lord's throne room. Growing bored after going a full year without coming up with a decent scheme to nab his lady love of the Mushroom Kingdom yet again, Bowser decided it was time to sharpen his intimidating evil laugh, using his aides as judges to find out what worked best.

"**BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!**" Bowser boomed into the air as menacingly as he could, attempting to impress his judges. "How was that?" he soon asked, looking over at Kammy and Kamek. The two Magikoopas had a stack of large cards resting on the ground next to them containing the numbers "1" to "10" and they had to hold up whatever number they thought the laugh deserved.

After some consideration, Kamek lifted up a solid "9", prompting a cocky smile from Bowser, whereas Kammy put up a not-so-impressive "6", immediately wiping that smile from his face.

"What the heck, only a six?" Bowser grumbled, furrowing his eyebrows as if Kammy had just insulted him. Kammy slightly lowered the card and gave a small shrug.

"I dunno, that 'Bwa' part just seems a little...clichéd," she admitted, causing Kamek to give an invisible nod in agreement, though he personally liked the growl. "How about something like **'KYA-HA-HA-HA!!!'**" Kammy cackled in an incredibly high pitched voice with surprisingly impressive gusto, managing to curdle the blood of Bowser and Kamek as well as several of the castle's dwellers listening in just outside the door. Kamek quickly held up his "10" card, but Bowser simply scoffed.

"That's an old hag laugh," he responded, folding his arms as he bowed his head and closed his eyes, appearing to concentrate. "I need a big, deep roar that'll strike fear into anyone that hears it. It has to complement my totally intimidating awesomeness."

"But you don't really need a laugh Lord Bowser," Kamek interjected, setting aside his large "10" card. "Just the sight of you conjures terror in the hearts of many."

"That's not good enough," Bowser retorted, lowering his arms and opening his eyes once more. "I want people to be scared out of their wits without even having to see me. I want to be able to roar with so much intimidation that they look around and call for their mommies without knowing what kind of a threat they're facing. THAT'S true fear right there."

"**PAPA!!**" a familiar high pitched voice rang out from the hallway just outside of the throne room. And immediately the color drained from the faces of Bowser's two aides, worn out by the sheer thought of having their king's son in the same vicinity as them. Countless were the times they were charged with babysitting Bowser Jr., and never once did he fail to cause some kind of mayhem, whether it was breaking Kammy's favorite vase or accidentally threatening to destroy the entire castle because he found his way into a restricted room in search of a cookie. The two shuddered as they wondered what he was up to now.

Looking at the two Magikoopas, Bowser gave out an irritated sigh. As Junior burst through the large double doors into the room, his father realized that his own son was better at frightening people than he was. That wasn't a very encouraging thought as the young, energetic Koopa prince bounded his way over to his father, waving a rolled up piece of parchment excitedly.

"I finally came up with a plan Papa!" Junior announced ecstatically, holding up the paper for his father to take. "I think it could really work!"

This is gonna be cute, Bowser thought as he accepted the plan and unfolded it slowly, beginning to give it a read as Junior looked between Kammy and Kamek excitedly, appearing to bounce on the spot as if to let out a lot of pent up energy. The Magikoopas looked at one another as this took place, worried that Junior's current state would spell some kind of trouble for them sometime soon. Thankfully, Bowser spoke up after several seconds, taking his son's beady eyes off the two nervous part-time babysitters.

"A dream catcher?" Bowser asked, looking over at his overexcited son, who nodded feverishly in response.

"Yeah, I've been working on it forever so I could surprise you Papa," Junior admitted, coming to his father's side to look at the plan himself. "It's not just any dream catcher like the ones people put over their beds when they go to sleep," he explained, pointing at an illustration of what looked like an ordinary dream catcher. "This is a giant one that will only be seen in the Dreamscape once we fire it up."

"Dreamscape?" Bowser asked quizzically, giving voice to what Kammy and Kamek were thinking as they listened on. "I've never heard of this place before."

"Because a lot of people don't believe it exists," Junior responded, keeping up his excitement. "It's a reflection of the Mushroom World that can only be seen by people who manage to escape their dreams while they sleep. But since most people can't do that, they stay trapped in their own Dream Realms, which are just small segments of the world that only exist in the dreamer's mind."

Bowser's head was already spinning as he tried to comprehend what in the world his son was talking about, but before he could ask any questions, Junior began to clarify.

"See, when people go to sleep at night, their subconscious enters a small part of a larger alternate reality," Junior tried to explain. "When they go to this alternate reality, they're separated into their own realms so as not to intermingle with one another and possibly screw up someone else's dreams. And the only way to do that is by leaving their own dreams while they're still asleep and entering another's by traveling across the Dreamscape, which, like I said, is just like the Mushroom World, only it's usually empty of people walking around because almost nobody knows how to control their subconscious while they're asleep."

"...Okay, I think I get it," Bowser muttered after a few seconds of silently trying to figure out what his son was saying. "So, the Dreamscape is where dreams take place and Dream Realms are the individual bubbles or whatever where separate peoples' dreams actually play out." Junior nodded, happy that his father was getting the gist of what he was trying to say. "And according to your plan...every Dream Realm has a portal that leads in and out of the person's dream, right?"

"Yep!" Junior confirmed. "And if the portal is blocked, the subconscious can never escape the dream, which means the person will be stuck sleeping until the portal is opened up again and allows the dreamer to leave."

It was at this time that Bowser and his Magikoopa aides finally figured out where this idea seemed to be going. As he continued to scan the plan, Bowser's lips curled into a wicked smile, leading to a quiet chuckle.

"So your dream catcher...it can take us to and from the Dreamscape as we see fit?" Bowser asked, prompting another happy nod from his young, excited son.

"We can take everyone in the entire castle with us and we could all walk around the Dreamscape without having to be asleep to do so," Junior piped up energetically. "Aaand, once we fire up its dream catching function, it'll throw everyone in the entire regular world into a slumber and it'll seal off the portals of every one of their dreams. And there's no way the portal can be opened unless a subconscious gets through an entire dream, start to finish, without shifting dreams midway through, which I found out is near impossible since nobody's ever been recorded to have finished an entire dream before either shifting them or waking up."

"And once everyone's asleep, we can just come back from the Dreamscape, waltz right into Peach's castle, bring her back here, and the Mushroom Kingdom will be mine!" Bowser finished eagerly, finally growing excited about the plan himself. He quickly ruffled whatever little hair his son had and tapped the piece of paper with the back of his hand happily. "Junior, this is absolutely brilliant! This plan will make everything so simple! And best of all, Mario will be too busy sleeping to stop us! Perfect!"

However, while Bowser was already sold to the idea, Kammy and Kamek couldn't help but wonder about the plan's validity. Neither of them wanted to ask Junior a question though and they soon decided on a game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to decide who would have to speak up. And after belting out "Paper" against Kammy's "Scissors," Kamek sighed as he prepared to talk.

"But Your Rancidness," Kamek spoke up meekly, grabbing his superiors' attention right away. "How are we so sure any of this is true? It all sounds pretty mythical to me."

"Well I wouldn't come in here and talk about the plan without trying it out first, duh," Junior spat, showing his brattier side that he managed to hide rather well when he spoke to his father. "I tested all of this on some Goomba foot soldier using a smaller dream catcher prototype and it worked out perfectly. I managed to get into the Dreamscape and I was able to block the portal from his dream that allowed him to wake up..." Junior suddenly came to a pause as he looked upward, holding a hand to his chin. "...Whoops," he muttered, causing the old Magikoopas to exchange nervous glances.

"Whoops?" Kamek responded, urging the prince to impart his mistake.

"Uh...that Goomba's been asleep for...about six months now..." Junior admitted, shocking Kammy and Kamek but bringing a happy smile to Bowser's face. "...Huh. I probably should have unblocked it when I was done experimenting... Oh well. At least we know it works."

"And that's all that matters," Bowser gladly confirmed, giving his son a pat on the back as the pair inched towards the double doors leading out of the room. "I have to say Junior, I'm proud of you. I wouldn't have thought of an idea like this in a million years."

"Thanks Papa!" Bowser Jr. responded happily.

"So we can unblock separate portals without doing the same for everyone right?" Bowser asked, making his son nod in response.

"If we want, we can take off the seal to just one portal," he responded. It was a function he carefully added once he knew just who Bowser would want to wake up after everything was all said and done. "So you, me, and Mama can finally be together, and nobody will get in the way!"

"Exactly Son, exactly," Bowser said as he and Bowser Jr. approached the large double doors to leave the room. "We'll be initiating this awesome plan immediately," he called back to Kammy and Kamek as they observed the pair walk out. "Let everybody know alright?"

"Yes Your Terribleness," Kammy responded with a slight nod. Moments later, the king and prince were out the door, leaving Kammy and Kamek in the room alone. "So how do you think this plan will turn out?" Without a word, Kamek lifted up a large "2" card in response.

"It gets an extra point for innovation," Kamek explained, for Kammy expected him to lift a "1", since all of Bowser's plans managed to fail in the end anyway. Of course, despite the almost-certainty of losing, Kammy and Kamek followed orders as usual. What else could they do? They were just Bowser's lackeys after all.

–

The world famous Mario brothers could be seen traversing the streets of Toad Town as the afternoon sky glowed over the lively city. Carrying several bags of groceries each, the older, shorter twin was listening to his younger, taller brother ramble on and on about an adventure that, evidently, nobody else ever even heard about before this moment in time. Which wasn't really all that rare when Luigi told his stories, for, somehow, unlike Mario's, Luigi's adventures always led to everyone involved in the journey suddenly obtaining amnesia via a bright flash of light or something that would mysteriously appear out of nowhere, leaving only Luigi able to recall the events. But the green man always swore on his own grave that everything he imparted was one hundred percent true. He just never had any evidence to prove it because "a mysterious sea monster appeared when I was taking a boat back home, and it ate my (insert important item that could be used as solid evidence here)."

Although Mario often felt exhausted after these highly questionable stories were over, he couldn't deny that his brother's tales never failed to entertain. From the quirky way he mentioned minute, unimportant details like an odd knoll in a tree that stuck in his mind to the convincing way he sold his stories by putting real, appropriate emotion behind every word, one would probably never tell that everything was likely made up if all the tales didn't end the same way. And although Mario had a justifiable reason not to believe anything about these stories, he always assured his little brother that he believed him. After all, that's what brothers were for.

"And then, everything went all black..." Luigi continued on, passing the time it took to walk home rather successfully. "Next thing I know, I'm in a boiling pot of water and there's tribal Shy Guys cutting up carrots and dropping the pieces in with me! They were cooking me alive bro! And I was all tied up! There was nothing I could do! But then..."

Mario tuned out whatever it was that Luigi was about to say next, for something caught his eye. Merlon was standing outside of his home, looking at the brothers intently. Mario knew that look and immediately figured that the Shaman had something to tell them. The old man never seemed to leave his house unless he wanted to talk to the brothers anyway, which was slightly understandable since he was constantly studying or meditating about something or other.

Politely interrupting his brother, Mario pointed out that Merlon was watching them and figured that he must want something. Luigi agreed to postpone his story until they discovered what it was that Merlon wanted to talk about and the pair headed over.

"Mario and Luigi, good to see you again," Merlon greeted as the brothers drew near. "Since I was standing outside of my house in broad daylight staring at you silently from a distance, I believe I had a premonition that I must inform the you two of..."

There was an awkward silence as the brothers stared at Merlon, who simply stared back. The pair then exchanged glances and Luigi shifted around uncomfortably.

"What would that premonition be?" Luigi asked.

"Hold on, I've had so many of them just in this past minute that I can't remember which one pertains to you two..." Merlon explained, causing Mario and Luigi to exchange glances yet again.

"Is Bowser up to something again?" Luigi inquired, hoping to spark the subject of the meeting. Thankfully, the mention of Bowser instantly reminded the Shaman just what it was that he had to impart.

"That's right," he mumbled. "During my meditation last night, I foresaw the Koopa king and his son initiating a plan involving the Dreamscape."

"Dreamscape?" Luigi wondered as Mario cocked his head a little to the side in confusion.

"Yes, the alternate reality where our dreams take place," Merlon explained. "It's basically the same as the Mushroom World we know and love, but it's impossible to traverse it without the ability to control your subconscious whilst you dream."

Mario and Luigi raised an eyebrow simultaneously.

"You'll learn in time," Merlon lazily ensured before digging around a pocket of his cloak. The twins looked on intently as the Shaman eventually located and displayed a pair of identical dream catchers. "Here, these will be of use to you."

Not having free hands with which to accept the items, Mario and Luigi simply stared at the two decorated circles for a while. Realizing that their hands were full, Merlon tucked the dream catchers into the front pockets of their overalls.

"Wait, what does Bowser plan to do anyway?" Luigi asked, appearing to only just register that Bowser was about to strike yet again. "It must be something good if it involves a whole alternate reality."

"Here, come inside," Merlon invited, leading the brothers into his gaudy purple home with a rotating roof. Nobody was quite sure why Merlon insisted that he have a spinning roof, but he seemed to like it. Whatever. One couldn't accuse the Shaman of making sense.

Once inside the abode, the brothers set down their groceries next to the door and stood on the nearest side of the crystal ball resting in the center of the room. Merlon occupied the far side, readying himself to summon the image of Bowser's castle. Hopefully visiting the room in which the large contraption that would be used for the plan would serve to shed some light on the situation.

However, as Merlon lifted his hands into the air and began to chant using the Ancient Toadish language to call forth the scene that would hopefully explain things a bit more clearly, Mario let out an exasperated yawn; one that was usually reserved for Luigi's long-winded stories or for instances where he simply stood still for too long at a time. Hyperactivity truly sucked for the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, but this time, something else seemed to be affecting him. Something that would make him sleepy only three seconds after ceasing to move.

"Come on bro, he hasn't even brought up the image..." Luigi now let out his own yawn, "...Yet." Soon, Merlon's chanting slowed to a drawl as he appeared to be struggling to keep his arms up. It wasn't long before he let out a rather fatigued yawn himself.

"My...I'm feeling...oddly sleepy..." he mumbled as he gave up on trying to bring out the power of the crystal ball.

"No kidding..." Luigi muttered as he witnessed his brother begin to waver on the spot, taking a few stuttered steps to keep himself from falling on the ground. "What's..." Yawn. "What's going on...?"

"The Koopa King...is starting his..." Yawn. "His plan... But...but no worries... Your dream catchers will..."

Without another word, Merlon fell flat on his back, unable to keep himself awake any longer. Shortly after, Mario succumbed to the overwhelming sensation and dropped to the floor as well, lying on his side as sleep overtook him. Luigi was now the only one in the room that hadn't fallen subject to the sudden temptation, though he wouldn't be able to keep himself up much longer.

"What's...Bowser up to this time...?"

With that, Luigi's world went black as well. The last thing he could remember was feeling the ground roughly connecting with his back.

–

All around the Mushroom World, people and animals alike were falling subject to the invisible threat of Bowser Jr.'s giant dream catcher mechanism (aptly named the "Koopa Dream Katcher" after several hours of debate on what to dub the device). Birds dropped right out of the sky as fish slowly came to a stall when they were jetting along at a rapid pace just moments before. Toads milling about in the streets either fell to the ground, sat against a wall, or even stood erect as they remained almost motionless, their steady breathing being the only indication that they were still alive. The audience witnessing the current brutal title match in the Glitz Pit between Rawk Hawk and Dash, the tough little Yoshi that could, shut off the excitement meter almost immediately as they drifted into slumber along with the battling participants and Jolene, who was shouting out every detail of the match just moments ago. And at her castle, resting in a chair on her balcony that overlooked the calm, beautiful Toad Town in the perfect afternoon light, Princess Peach Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom bowed her head in silence. Her crown slowly slid off the top of her head and clinked against the ground as its previous holder fell into sudden unconsciousness.

Bowser's new plan was working perfectly.


	2. Mario's Dream: A New Realm of Unreality

**Author's Note: I know I said I wasn't gonna work on this anymore until I finished Not Another Love Story, but I just felt the urge to get the next chapter done. Hope you enjoy it.**

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**Mario's Dream: "A New Realm of Unreality"**

He didn't know where he was and he didn't know what just happened, but as Mario stirred and groaned, riling himself awake from the sudden sleep, he knew that nothing positive could have resulted from whatever was going on.

Getting up on his hands and knees, Mario huffed and puffed as if someone just punched him hard in the gut.

"Whew," he muttered weakly as he struggled onto his feet and shook his head slowly. For the first time, he was able to see just where he was. Or...perhaps...where he wasn't?

There was nothing. As he looked ahead of him, he found nothing but absolute, plain white.

Softly scratching his head underneath his cap, Mario raised an eyebrow in utter confusion. What was that place? That wide open, completely blank area? How the heck did he get there? And how in the world could he get out?

"Get in there, quick!" a familiar, high-pitched voice commanded from nowhere. "We have to make sure Mario never has the chance to leave his dream! And if he does, Papa's gonna be furious!"

Dream? Was that Mario's dream...? And where was that voice coming from? It sounded so familiar, but, even as Mario looked all around him, he could see absolutely nothing.

"Ouch!"

"Gah!"

"Ugh!"

Huh?

Mario turned to see two Koopas and a Goomba piled on top of each other, having appeared, apparently, completely out of nowhere. It was evident they didn't have a very smooth entry, for they appeared to be quite disoriented, their eyes going lazy on them for a time before they forced themselves up onto their feet.

"Well, _that_ wasn't too pleasant..." the green-shelled Koopa muttered disdainfully as he straightened out his shell and let out a small sigh.

"Seriously. I know we have to respect the boss's kid, but he's pretty annoying someti..."

It was quickly evident why the Goomba stopped himself short. His two Koopa companions froze stiff as well, for Mario was walking directly toward them. He didn't appear to have the urge to square off with them then and there, but the trio panicked and quickly jumped a fair way backwards all at once, visibly shaking as Mario slowed to a stop.

"D-D'you think he's really controllin' himself right now?" the green-shelled Koopa asked nervously.

"I'm...not sure," his red-shelled ally answered. Shortly afterward, he whipped out a skinny, white remote that resembled some sort of wireless game controller. "But I'm not takin' any chances. The boss trusted us with stallin' Mario until he got reinforcements out here to hold him down. We can't mess up now!"

"Wha!?" Mario piped up as the ground all around him began to shake and let out a loud rumble in response to the press of a button on the remote. The rumbling persisted for several seconds and Mario looked all around in an attempt to discover what it was that caused such a ruckus. It was only then that he spotted a quick glimpse of what would be his only escape; a black portal that presented itself only moments before the very fabric of the entire white space split completely in half.

Mario nearly lost his footing as the fissure cracked just in front of him and widened at an extraordinarily quick pace, leaving him separated from the three intruders and the portal by quite the large, completely black margin. It wasn't long before the trio and the portal became but a peck in Mario's sight, and a black abyss stood between them.

"Whoa, just one press did all that!?" the Goomba asked in shock, staring down into the black pit with wide eyes as the red-shelled Koopa looked at the remote in his hand uncertainly.

"I...guess. I wasn't really counting on that to happen, but I guess it works," he muttered. "I hear he's a legendary jumper, but _nobody_ could jump a gap _that_ big if they tried."

"And as long as Mario can't reach this here portal, he's stuck, right?" the green-shelled Koopa asked, glancing over at the mass of darkness as his red companion nodded in response.

"Still though...if pressing that button could cause all of this...I wonder what'd happen if I pressed this one..."

With that, the Koopa pressed down on a different button from the one he selected before. Shortly after doing so, he joined his two comrades in looking around to see if anything changed anywhere within the space, or if something happened to Mario. But everything appeared to be completely unchanged.

"Weird. The boss said each of these buttons does something different..." the Koopa muttered as he persistently pressed the same button over and over again. "But nothing's happening..."

"Uh, you sure you wanna be doin' that?" the Goomba asked nervously as he stared at the Koopa performing the action. "What if it's just a delay or somethin'? If you press it that much, something really big could-"

The area suddenly began to shake so violently that everyone, including Mario, lost their footing almost immediately and fell to the ground under the force. The Goomba's suspicions about the button were correct, and it was quickly evident that some incredible, powerful energy was coming from the very depths of the pit that lie before Mario and the three unfriendly forces. Everyone stared into the pit with wide eyes, anxiously awaited what was to emerge from it, but, as they did so, the red-shelled Koopa holding the remote felt a quick surge of electricity emanate from the device. The short-circuited device quickly found itself tumbling to the blank white floor and cracking into pieces as the awaited sources of the tremendous rumbling finally emerged.

"Mama-Mia..." Mario muttered as he gazed up into the air and backed away from the large pit, clenching his gloved fists tightly in preparation for what was falling straight toward him.

Seven of them... Likely one for each press of the button...

It was a matter of mere seconds before Mario was completely surrounded by seven Shadow Bowsers, all seething auras of pure darkness and possessing menacing yellow eyes that cackled at him, sounding remarkably similar to the true Bowser's voice. Mario could do nothing but look all around him as the seven Bowsers encircling him advanced one heavy step at a time. That certainly wasn't an ideal situation for the wiped out hero.

"Holy smokes..." the Goomba muttered as he watched on in utter shock.

"...Do we know if people can die in real life if they get taken out in their Dream Realm?" the green Koopa asked nervously.

"...No clue," the red Koopa answered simply.

All they could do was watch and see what would happen at that point.

Attempting a surprise attack, one of the Bowsers on Mario's right quickly lunged forward, raising its left paw in anticipation of striking down the plumber with one swift movement. Despite his dazed situation however, Mario reacted just as quickly, ducking down to avoid the deadly swipe as it barely grazed the top of his hat. He went in for a quick counterattack via a jab to the Bowser's gut, but he was quickly taken down by a Bowser that tackled him from behind, wrestling him to the ground and rendering him motionless on his stomach as yet another Bowser stepped forward and grabbed the plumber by the collar.

Prompting the Bowser that pinned Mario down to stand back up, the Bowser that had the hero by the shirt lifted him up until he was eye level with the shadow being. It let out a menacing cackle, imitating the real Bowser flawlessly, as it lifted up a sharp claw and readied itself to take a clear shot at its enemy. As the attack came in however, Mario lifted up both of his arms and managed to slip himself down into his shirt completely, resembling a Koopa retreating into its shell as the claw passed overhead harmlessly. The moment he had an opening, Mario popped back out and delivered a strong punch to the shadow Bowser's snout.

The Bowser immediately dropped Mario as it let out a painful grunt and, surprisingly, shattered into drops of shadow that fell harmlessly to the floor before promptly disappearing. And that was certainly something that Mario wanted to see.

"Wow, clever move," the Goomba commented, quite impressed by Mario's display of agility.

"Whatever man, I coulda done that in my sleep," the green-shelled Koopa scoffed, suddenly feeling shunned that he never got such a great chance to show off his battle skills.

"I think we have more important things to worry about here guys," the red-shelled Koopa spoke up as he observed Mario skillfully grab onto one of the Bowsers' tails and toss it straight into another Bowser, causing them both to disappear simultaneously upon impact. "He's actually able to destroy those things, and he's doing it pretty quickly. And, on top of that..." he continued as he stared down at the shattered remote, "I overloaded the remote and kinda broke it. We're totally stuck in this place until King Bowser comes to get us."

"When's that supposed to happen?" the Koopa in green asked as Mario performed a Butt Stomp maneuver on one of the Bowsers, leaving only three remaining at that point.

"Two days," the red Koopa answered with a sigh.

"Dude, you serious!?" the Goomba nearly shouted in response. "What are we gonna do in this place for two days!?"

"Hey man, calm down. We've already got Mario cornered," the green Koopa shot back, observing that yet another Bowser was defeated via Mario tossing him into the pit. "Even if he does beat all of those Shadow Bowsers, there's still no way for him to get over here."

"I know _that_, but what the heck are we gonna _eat_!?" the Goomba asked as tears came to his eyes. "If I'd known we were gonna be here for two days, I'da packed some food!"

Mario had to pause for a moment to catch his breath. The battle was admittedly much easier than he'd initially expected, but he was still weary from the sudden sleep he'd been thrown into not long ago. He could hear Bowser's three minions squabbling amongst each other on the other side of the pit and Mario quickly remembered that, somehow, he had to get over to them. But with two Shadow Bowsers and an uncrossable pit standing in his way, just how was he supposed to do that?

Mario braced himself as one of the two remaining Bowsers lunged forward at him. He would have to fight defensively for the time being in order to recover from his fatigue, but, to his surprise, something fell out of the pure white sky and slammed straight through the attacking Bowser, causing it to disappear immediately. At the same time, a grunt could be heard from the object that suddenly appeared and it wasn't long before it started to move.

"I see my entry needs a little work... I'm too old to be banging my head against fake Bowsers like that..."

Before long, a slightly dazed Merlon emerged from the piled mess that was his Shaman robe and placed a hand on his head. He wobbled back and forth for a moment as Mario gave him a relieved smile. It was certainly nice to see a friendly companion, and one who could probably explain what the heck was going on at that.

"Ah, hello there Mario," Merlon spoke up as he gained control over his senses. "I'm glad these charms I created actually work. This is my first time testing them out really."

It seemed that Merlon never noticed that there was still one more Shadow Bowser on the scene, but Mario's suddenly tensed state tipped the old Shaman off that he was probably in a bit of danger simply by standing there. Despite knowing that an enemy was quickly coming towards him however, Merlon remained completely still.

"Don't worry Mario, I'll deal with this one as well," he informed simply as he apparently ruffled through his robes for something. And just as the last remaining Bowser was in the position to strike, a crystal ball emerged from Merlon's robe, floating in midair and quickly revolving around to the Shaman's back. Once the orb was in place, just before Shadow Bowser could make its attack, it let out a very small glimmer, and the Bowser stopped dead in its tracks. It strained against its invisible shackles, but, after a bright flash from the ball, it was completely gone, and the orb calmly returned to Merlon's grip. "Now then, I suppose it would be wise to seek out our exit point."

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute, where the heck did that guy come from?" the Goomba asked, ending the small argument he and his two comrades were holding. The two Koopas soon quieted down and looked across the pit as well.

"...A part of Mario's dream?" the green-shelled Koopa attempted to answer.

"I sure hope so. If that's the case, according to the prince, he won't be able to affect anything we do," the red Koopa spoke up as Merlon turned to look over in his direction.

"Ah, so it's on the other side hm?" Merlon observed, prompting a nod from Mario in return before the Shaman turned to look back at him. "Well then, I suppose it would be wise to close this chasm."

Mario cocked his head slightly to the side in confusion, causing Merlon to invisibly smile from underneath his hood.

"Don't forget Mario, this is _your_ dream," Merlon explained as he turned to look back across the large gap. "You won't have the same powers once you're in others' Dream Realms, but in your own, you have absolute power, thanks to that charm I gave you."

After thinking for a small moment, Mario seemed to get the idea and dug into his front pocket, extracting the dream catcher Merlon handed to him just before Mario ended up in that white world.

"That's right Mario, the dream catcher I gave you and Luigi allows you both to control yourselves while in the Dreamscape," Merlon continued to explain. "Normally, it would be incredibly difficult for you to control your subconscious self as you slept, but, as long as you carry that charm, you will be able to control yourself while in any dream, and, when in your own dream, you can manipulate your environment in any way that you wish. All you must do to make this happen is simply think about what you want to change.

"But, keep in mind that this same strategy doesn't work while you occupy the dreams of others," Merlon persisted. "You will still be able to control yourself, but environmental changes can only possibly be made by the dreamer."

Mario bowed his head for a moment, appearing to think about everything Merlon was telling him. If that was true, than not only had Bowser somehow managed to create a way to invade and block peoples' dreams, but he also created a device that allowed his lackeys to hold the same power as the dreamer to change the environment. That would be the only possible logical conclusion as to how that remote created that chasm.

But, unfortunately for the trio, they were in the dream of somebody who could control himself. And he could easily undo the damage they had done.

"Uh, what's goin' on now?" the green-shelled Koopa asked as the entire environment began to shake rather violently once more.

"No idea. One of those two must be doing something..." the red Koopa answered, looking over at Mario and Merlon with nervous eyes.

It wasn't long before the great chasm that separated the two groups suddenly began to close, slamming shut in a matter of seconds and causing Bowser's trio to tumble over themselves as a result. In no time flat, the portal out of Mario's dream went from an impossible leap away to a few short steps ahead, and all that stood in the way were two Koopas and a Goomba, who all looked ready to wet themselves as they stared up at Mario and Merlon face-to-face. Silence permeated the air for several seconds as both groups simply looked at each other, but the Goomba soon hopped up onto his feet and began to plead for his life.

"Please Mr. Super Mario Sir, let us go!" he cried, nuzzling against Mario's boot as tears flowed from his eyes. "I never wanted to be a member of Bowser's ranks! I was forced into this by my big brother! Please! I'm only eighteen! I'm too young to die!!"

Mario simply stared down at the Goomba in surprise as the two Koopas glared at their "companion" with malice. What a way to completely betray them and throw away his dignity...

"As long as you don't get in our way young man, I doubt Mario nor I would mind letting you go scotch-free," Merlon spoke up after a few seconds of awkward silence. Mario confirmed the point with a nod and soon turned his attention to the two Koopas, silently asking if they were going to put up a fight or step aside. The pair of Troops glanced at each other for a brief time, wondering what they should do.

King Bowser would be furious, the green Koopa thought.

But we'll get smoked if try to put up a fight, the red Koopa thought in return.

We'll never hear the end of it if he got away, the green Koopa counter-thought.

We'll never hear _anything_ _ever again_ if we tried to stop him, the red Koopa combatively thought.

It was mutually decided.

"We...won't try to stop you either," the red-shelled Koopa muttered submissively, prompting a nod from his green ally. Mario gave off a smile to the Koopas, glad that he could let his guard down and allow himself to rest for the first time since that dream started. As he and Merlon passed by the downed trio and headed for the portal however, a thought occurred to the Shaman's mind.

"Say, Mario, just what exactly was that chasm doing there anyway?" Merlon asked, causing Mario to come to a halt and look at the ground near the trio. "You didn't create it yourself did you?"

"No Sir, we created it with the Remake Remote!" the Goomba blurted out in response, causing both of his companions to glare at him yet again. Mario soon spotted the broken remote and knelt down to retrieve it, showing it to an interested Merlon.

"So, I take it this device allows its user to manipulate the environment of a Dream Realm," Merlon deduced as he inspected the thin, white remote alongside Mario.

"That's right Sir, that remote can change aspects of a person's dream with the press of a button!" the Goomba shouted out yet again. "We used it so Mr. Super Mario couldn't reach the portal, but we had no idea he could counteract it!"

"I see..." Merlon muttered with a slight hint of worry in his voice. "Are there more of these?"

"Yes!" the Goomba answered. "There are only a few others right now, but more are in production as we speak!"

"Hm... This may pose a bit of a problem Mario..." Merlon grumbled as Mario tucked the broken gadget into his back pocket. "If Bowser has possession of these devices, and if they really are that powerful, then he may be more of a threat than I initially assumed. And I initially assumed his threat level was quite astounding.

"Well, there's no use in us wasting anymore time here I suppose," Merlon continued as he approached the floating portal, turning to Mario once he reached it. The plumber walked up alongside the Shaman and quickly realized he had no idea just how to get through the swirl of darkness that rested before him, for it seemed to repel them in its current state. Neither Merlon nor Mario could get any closer to it than they were.

"No worries my friend, it's quite a simple task. Just hold up your dream catcher to the portal and it will absorb the darkness surrounding the exit. This act will be quite vital as you continue on your journey, but I will explain more once we're out in the Dreamscape."

Following orders, Mario took out his dream catcher once more and held it up toward the portal. It wasn't long before the trinket began to act on its own, floating out of Mario's hand and further towards the swirling darkness. Everyone watched on as the dream catcher began to emit a rather faint, white glow, and the darkness around the portal slowly begun to seep its way into the heart of the charm.

An odd, sighing sound could be heard emitting from the darkness as it was slowly extracted from the portal, almost as if it were upset to depart from its home. Everyone but Merlon appeared to be rather surprised by the noise, but it didn't persist for very long, for, soon, the darkness was completely wiped away, and, with the sound of a high pitched click, the dark energy was sealed away within the dream catcher, causing the portal to appear deep blue.

Before either Mario or Merlon could step forward however, the portal soon began to expand. Again, everyone but Merlon appeared to be rather surprised by the occurrence, and, before long, the portal expanded to such a size that it easily split in two, displaying the original blue portal and a new red one. And through the red portal, everyone could see the image of a slumbering Mario. Of course, Mario glanced over at Merlon immediately, awaiting an explanation to this new occurrence.

"These are the two portals that occupy the Dream Realm of every person in the world," Merlon began to explain as he stepped over to the red portal. "This one is only accessible by you as the dreamer Mario, and will appear at the end of every person's dream. As you can see, it displays your sleeping image on the other side of it, showing that, if you choose to pass through this one, you will reawaken instantly. But I don't think you want to opt for that decision quite yet. There are quite a number of matters to attend to in the Dreamscape before you should decide to leave."

With that, he stepped over to the side of the blue portal. "And, as you might have guessed already, this portal will take us into the Dreamscape. Unlike the other portal, this one will most likely not appear in most dreams, for it can only present itself if the dreamer has the ability to control their subconscious, and very few people can actually do that. But don't worry, that doesn't mean you won't be able to return to the Dreamscape after you're done with another person's dream. I made sure to make it another primary function of the dream catcher I gave you.

"Now then, shall we?" Merlon finally concluded as he turned to face the blue portal, prompting a nod from Mario, who eagerly awaited setting out on his new journey. Though the details were still quite unclear to him, he was sure he'd learn more soon. And if Bowser had something to do with what was going on, it was Mario's duty to see to it that the malicious Koopa King was brought to a stop as swiftly as possible.

"Hey, wait-"

Too late. Mario and Merlon already stepped through the portal, emerging into the Dreamscape and leaving the trio behind in Mario's deserted dream. The three of them wanted to know just what would happen to them if the subconscious of the dreamer left its own dream, but they soon figured it out by force as a blinding flash of light enveloped all of them instantaneously. Before any of them knew what was going on, they were colliding harshly with the ground, tumbling over each other until they slammed to a stop against the wall of a building.

They all grumbled and groaned as they scrambled to their feet. Where the heck were they? As they looked around, they couldn't recognize anything at all. Actually, they could hardly even see anything at all; the place was just so dark...

"Well, this doesn't look too good," the Goomba muttered as he rendered himself out of his daze. Both of his partners glared at him evilly the second he opened his mouth, forcing him to shut it immediately.

"We were never told about what would happen if someone actually managed to escape their dream," the red-shelled Koopa muttered rather nervously as he looked around, attempting to spot any kind of object nearby. But, aside from the wall that stopped their tumbling, there appeared to be absolutely nothing.

"I don't like the look of this place," the green-shelled Koopa commented unsurely.

"What look?" the Goomba spoke up once again. "We can't see...anything..."

Again, both Koopas glared at the traitor with malicious intent.

"I think you should be quiet for a while," the Koopa in green warned.

"Sorry..."


End file.
